Feast of Sts. John of Matha and Felix of Valois (February 8)Leave a comment

Above: Trinitarian Emblem

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT JOHN OF MATHA (JUNE 23, 1160-DECEMBER 17, 1213)

and

SAINT FELIX OF VALOIS (1126-NOVEMBER 4, 1212)

Founders of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity (The Trinitarians)

St. Felix’s feast transferred from November 20

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St. John of Matha entered the world at Faucon, Provence, on June 23, 1160. He studied at Aix then returned to Faucon, where he became a hermit. Then he left for Paris, where he earned his doctorate of theology in 1197 before joining the hermitage (at Cerfroid) which St. Felix of Valois governed. St. John told St. Felix of his vocation to found a religious order dedicated to the ransoming of Christian captives from Muslims. The two men traveled to Rome in late 1197 and received Papal approval in 1198. St. John, headquartered in Ibera, became the first Superior of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity, and St. Felix ran the French province of the order from Cerfroid. Members of the order (working from 600 monasteries by 1240) succeeded in their labors.

The Order of the Most Holy Trinity exists today to, in the words of their official website, “help all who suffer uncommon hardships, especially those who suffer for their faith or who are poor.” That is a timeless vocation.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 2, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF CHANNING MOORE WILLIAMS

THE FEAST OF JOHN BROWN, ABOLITIONIST

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Lord God,

you have surrounded us with so great a cloud of witnesses.

Grant that we, encouraged by the example of your servants Saints John of Matha and Felix of Valois,